Full thickness gastric wall biopsies that include the entire muscularis propria would be helpful to evaluate a number of diseases including motility abnormalities and cancer. Current mucosal-based biopsies are insufficient as they do not allow evaluation of the deep muscle layers or neural tissue including ganglia present in the deep layers. At present, most full thickness biopsies require invasive surgical procedures to access the gastric wall and other deep tissue areas.
What is needed in the art is a full thickness biopsy device that is less surgically invasive. What is needed in the art is a minimally invasive device that can obtain a full thickness biopsy device using an endoscopic procedure.